Huizar to Argue for Banning Medical Marijuana on KCRW show Wednesday
The Council member will be on the air tonight at 7 p.m.
Council Member Josè Huizar will make a case for his proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensaries across Los Angeles on KCRW’s radio show, Which Way L.A.?, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Also on the show, which was pre-recorded Wednesday afternoon, will be James Shaw, director of Medical Marijuana Patients, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the “defending and asserting the rights of medical cannabis patients.”
Huizar, whose proposal was unanimously approved by the L.A. City Council Planning Commission last month and is headed for a vote by the Council, has said that deserving patients will still have the right to produce and obtain medical marijuana even if marijuana dispensaries are banned in the city.
Shaw is expected to argue on tonight’s radio show that a ban is a “radical and very risky move,” according to his MMP colleague Scott Smith. “There are lots of tools to regulate [marijuana] without running into high court challenges,” Smith added, referring to potential lawsuits that a citywide ban could face.
To hear the show online, go to the KCRW website's home page and click on "Listen Now."
STARCHY
10:26 am on Friday, February 3, 2012
interesting that Jose didn't raise this issue BEFORE the CD14 election....
Michael Larsen
5:19 pm on Friday, February 3, 2012
On the contrary, Mr. Starchy, Huizar's leadership on this very issue is what I believe led to his rather significant victory last year. I believe he received 60% of the vote.
STARCHY
11:47 am on Sunday, February 5, 2012
his proposed ban was introduced AFTER the election
Michael Larsen
11:54 am on Sunday, February 5, 2012
Mr. Huizar's current plan to deal with unregulated pot stores in LA is in response to court rulings that occurred in the Fall of 2011, ... after the election.
Rob Schraff
1:52 pm on Sunday, February 5, 2012
Mr, Larsen, I'm sure you meant to add something like... except for the California Supreme Court ruing that invalidated the court rulings - and the need and quite possibly the legality of Mr. Huizar's motion. (Even if it is even passed by the City Council in defiance of Proposition 215, current California State Law, and the California Supreme Court.)
Further, as many have noticed, the real-world effects of Mr. Huizar's bad faith is to persecute medical marijuana patients and increase street drug sales and gang crime.
And Mr. Larsen, while I can see why someone who enjoys 0.01% support in the community as an ERNC member might be awed by Mr. Huizar's electoral performance, something like 6% of the eligible vote (if that) in one of the dirtiest and most expensive council elections in LA history is really not all that impressive. This may explain, however, most of Mr. Huizar's ham-fisted, tone-deaf initiatives of late...
Patrick
7:22 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Hey Michael Larsen, Do you support any medical marijuana collectives in your area or do you want them all gone? Isn't there one you respect?
Michael Larsen
9:27 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Patrick, I would support a tightly regulated dispensary that shows respect for the community and legitimate patients. Unfortunately, that's not possible right now for a variety of reasons.
Not one of the dispensaries in Eagle Rock have a permit or license to operate. They are all black market sellers of marijuana with no regulation, oversight or accountability.
I would have tremendous respect for any dispensary that voluntarily shut down storefront operations and became a true non-profit private collective with patient/caregiver growers until proper regulations could be put in place to ensure community and patient safety and quality of life.
It would be unfortunate if legitimate patients were caught up in the law enforcement actions like we've seen in CD12 by Devonshire Division of LAPD, (and which I believe are inevitable in Northeast) due to the greedy and uncompassionate behavior of dispensary owners.
Patrick Duff
7:42 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
You see Michael, proper regulations were supposed to be in place years ago, but your boy and his cronies fumbled the ball, not the dispensary operators. It is the politicians job to set the regulations that will be fair, which they have not done. They instead have caused more confusion and ambiguity with their inaction.
I would hope that you, as an elected official, could have the sense to know that the free market will bear it's wants and needs. If the people in Eagle Rock are so upset about the collectives then why are you the only person we keep hearing from in that area?
Can you explain to me the actual problems caused by the collectives besides the fact that they make money? I could tell you hundreds of problems with the bars in your area. Those money hungry bar owners are responsible for dozens of deaths a year. Where is their compassion for the community? Do you scream and trumpet that these bars should be closed? How about the Bucket? They serve heart attacks and alcohol, do you warn your people about them, Moses?
Michael Edge
3:36 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Michael, i would say you have been lawyered
Michael Larsen
4:08 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Bars can be shut down if they cause problems because they have Conditional Use Permits (CUPs). Restaurants (like the Bucket) can also be closed by the County Health Department or have their beer license revoked if they violate codes or get complaints from the community. Anytime a business wants a license to serve alcohol, they have to notify the neighbors, have public hearings, get community input before they are given a CUP.
Pot shops, on the other hand, currently operate with no regulation, no use permits, no health code requirements, no accountability, no notification, no recourse for patients or neighbors if there are problems.
THAT is THE problem.
Dispensaries are the BLACK MARKET in storefronts.
Rob Schraff
5:18 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
As this thread has repeatedly demonstrated, Mr. Larsen's view of the law (and the world, and sexual morality) is very BLACK and WHITE. He cannot, or will not, make any effort to understand is that the current very GRAY state of the actual state legislative and supreme court rulings regarding medical marijuana. His reliance on solely Carmen Trutanich's waffling legal opinions as he runs for County DA (making a mockery of his own integrity in the process, see "Carmen Trutanich:"I am a Liar":http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-trutanich-20120213,0,318583.story) at least demonstrates Mr. Larsen's simplistic, single-minded approach.
Nonetheless, it is interesting in view of Mr' Larsen's rhetoric above, that Mr. Huizar's draconian and politically minded ban (He is rumored in the recent LA to want to succeed Mr. Trutanich as LA City Attorney. Or, will he stay in the 14th, newly fattened by all those downtown donations and building and safety consulting contracts floating around?) would actually recreate and dramatically expand a very real, gang-dominated black market, in Eagle Rock and across the city. That is the inevitable result that Mr. Larsen's repetitive pedantry is designed to obscure.
Patrick Duff
7:17 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Do you know why bars are regulated so much? Alcohol in even small amounts can kill someone. Hundreds of thousands of people a year die from the substance. Some of whom who never even have a drink themselves are killed by drunk drivers. Our government at one point even banned it with the 18th amendment. The crime rate sky rocketed from such. People were forced to break the law in order to get a drink, but they still did, as they will with this situation.
It is our city officials that have failed us in not setting regulations for the budding new industry in the city. You have stated no true complaints from the Eagle rock community about these places that are filling otherwise empty commercial space. Your only argument seems to be the one against our officials for not regulating and setting up a workable system in our city. Why aren't you upset with the true culprits of this issue, the council and planning folks?
Do you think that they should get a free ride or do you have a vested interest in blindly supporting unconventional ideals that will only harm the greater community at large?
Michael Larsen
7:42 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I know that you read the LA Weekly article and saw my quote blaming the City Council for the mess we face in LA. I've been very outspoken about that fact, and I'm glad we can agree on that point. The absolute worst and "true culprit", as you say, in this case is Bill Rosendahl. He has consistently voted against any kind of regulation or controls on dispensaries, and he is largely to blame for the Council's inaction in my opinion.
As far as complaints, I will post the document that we provided Tim Ryder last year in response to his public records request on the subject. You can also skim many of these forums to find plenty of folks describing the problems dispensaries have caused them.
Finally, aside from the real nuisance problems they generate, the fact that these businesses are selling a powerful, illicit drug to supposedly seriously ill citizens in a completely unregulated manner is all the more reason to shut them down until proper safeguards for patients and neighbors can be put in place.
Until that happens, they will continue to be nothing more than black market dealers operating out of storefronts in our neighborhoods.